The present invention relates to a control arrangement for an adjustable housing.
More particularly it relates to a control arrangement for an adjustable housing of a radar sensor which is mounted outside on a vehicle.
As a rule, such a radar sensor is mounted on a holder by screws outside on a vehicle. The radar sensor can be for example a component of a distance warning system, in which continuously informations about the distance and/or the relative speed of the vehicle to other vehicles or to street objects can be processed. It is therefore necessary to orient the radar sensor very accurately on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Partially because of significant vehicle tolerances in the region of the mounting point, an adjustment of the sensor after the incorporation in the vehicle is required.
It is disclosed in the not published DE 199 24 055.8 A1 that the radar sensor after the mounting can be adjusted by manual turning of two adjusting screws by means of a deviating transmission from above, from below or laterally. The difficulty is to find a mounting space for the radar sensor, which provides on the one hand a sufficient place and satisfies the high frequency requirements, and on the other hand makes possible a simple and therefore inexpensive adjustment of the radar sensor at the end of the manufacturing process.
Frequently the accessibility of the adjusting screws is difficult because of the very narrow space conditions in the vehicles, so that the adjustment can be performed by means of a car lift or similar auxiliary means. Recesses for throughgoing passages in the region of the abutment rods, which can facilitate the accessibility, generally can not be provided from design reasons.
The German patent document DE 42 01 214 C1 discloses that the adjusting process of the radar sensor can be performed by means of an adjusting headlight which together with the radar sensor is arranged on an adjustment plate. The adjustment plate cooperates via the adjusting headlight with an adjusting motor which acts on the adjusting screws, so that the radar sensor can be oriented properly to the radar target.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control arrangement for an adjustable housing of the above mentioned general type, with which the position of the housing, for example for a radar sensor can be changeable by at least one adjusting screw.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated in a control arrangement for an adjustable housing, in particular for a radar sensor, which has at least one adjusting screw for changing a position of said housing a regulating adjusting drive for turning said at least one adjusting screw; a control electronic unit provided for adjustment, which evaluates signals produced by a radar sensor are evaluated, the signals are supplied to said adjusting drive, and position response command signals are determined by a corresponding one of the adjusting drives.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a control arrangement for an adjustable housing is provided, in particular for a radar sensor, which has at least one adjusting screw, a holder on which a position of said housing is changeable by said at least one adjusting screw; a regulatable adjusting drive which turns said at least one adjusting screw; a control electronic system provided for adjustment so that adjustment data are stored in storage and are readable through said control electronic system, supplied to a corresponding one of said adjustment drives, and position response signals of corresponding adjustment drives are determined.
Since the at least one adjusting screw is turnable by a regulatable adjusting drive, the rotation of the adjusting screw can be taken here by a drive, which must not be accessible for the adjustment. For adjustment, in advantageous manner a control electronic system is provided, through which the signals produced by the radar sensor are evaluated, supplied to the corresponding adjusting drive, and the position response signals of the corresponding adjusting drive are determined.
In the manufacturing chain of a motor vehicle with a radar sensor after the positioning of the vehicle on an adjusting place, the adjustment can be performed automatically and therefore in a time saving manner. By the automatic course, the errors failures can be eliminated, and moreover a self adjustment of the radar sensor is performed when a misalignment is detected.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the inventive control arrangement, the control electronic system is formed so that, adjustment data stored in a storage, they are supplied to a corresponding adjusting drive and the position response signals of the corresponding adjusting drive are determined. The control electronic system transfers, as in the previous embodiment, the adjusting commands to the drive, which sends a position response command to the control electronic unit. In this way an automatic processing of adjustment and a post adjustment correction is possible, wherein the adjustment algorithm can be stored in the control electronic system.
The invention can be realized in a simple manner when at least one adjusting screw is provided on the holder with a deviating transmission, through which a rotary spindle is guidable on the base plate on the holder outwardly. The adjustment is then actuatable through a rotation of the rotary spindle for turning the at least one adjusting screw in the screw thread. The deviating transmission can include bevel gears or a screw shaft or a spur gear.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, for example a linear drive can be coupled directly or through a coupling to the adjusting screw. The housing of the radar sensor is mountable by three screws on the holder, and two diagonal opposite screws are each guided as adjusting screws. The adjusting drive can be formed in an advantageous manner as a stepper motor which is self-locking when not supplied with current.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.